Juncker: Those who want no-deal Brexit ‘not aware’ of ‘difficulties’

The EU wants to strike a divorce agreement with the U.K., and "those who think no deal would be a better solution are not aware of the difficulties such a scenario would imply," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told members of the European Parliament today.

Juncker vowed to ease tensions weeks after European Council President Donald Tusk and the EU27’s most powerful leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, forcefully rejected most of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for a post-Brexit relationship at an informal summit in Salzburg last month.

"When it comes to the border between Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, we are sticking to the view we have expressed so many times: Ireland first," Juncker told MEPs.

During the debate on the preparations for the next European Council summit later this month, MEPs reacted strongly to comments made by U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who accused EU leaders of trying to turn the bloc into a prison and likened their actions to Soviet-style repression.

Referring to May's Tories, Parliament's Brexit coordinator and Liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt vowed that the EU would not “trample on our project to rescue a party that is deeply divided” and “apparently not capable to find a common line to exit the mess of Brexit.” He also attacked former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, branding his plan to build a bridge to Northern Ireland "insane" and joking that Johnson "is more known for burning bridges."

The leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Udo Bullmann, slammed "irresponsible leadership in the U.K.”

Even European Parliament President Antonio Tajani made a rare intervention in the debate, noting that “there are differences with the Soviet Union, which caused millions of deaths,” and the EU.

Juncker and EU leaders are scheduled to meet on October 18 for a crucial summit on Brexit.